The Secretary of State, pictured here during a press conference at the G7 meeting in Japan, has close ties to the new Dena boss.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The question of which person a secretary of state for economic affairs has chosen as best man usually plays no role in the political debate. In the case of Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Patrick Graichen, the situation is different: Graichen’s best man was Michael Schäfer, of all people, the future head of the federal German Energy Agency (Dena). Graichen was a member of a selection committee to fill the Dena managing director post.
Did Graichen, one of the architects of energy policy, help land a friend an interesting post? The ministry wants to dispel all doubts and announced on Thursday that the procedure for filling the post should be reviewed and, if necessary, restarted. Bias cannot be completely ruled out.
According to the ministry, Graichen informed Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) at the beginning of the week that the future Dena boss was his best man. Dena advises the federal government on energy policy issues, and there are numerous points of contact with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.
Habeck faced Graichen on Friday. “Without the consistent nature of Patrick Graichen, Germany would be in a severe economic crisis today,” Habeck told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. Graichen “got the law for filling the gas storage tanks through in no time at all and guaranteed the timely storage of gas, pushed ahead with the construction of LNG terminals for a secure gas supply, stabilized the gas supplier Uniper and brought old coal-fired power plants back to the grid,” said Habeck.
But within the traffic light coalition there is criticism. FDP economic politician Reinhard Houben suggested that Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) dismiss Graichen. “Mr. Graichen is increasingly becoming a political burden for Economics Minister Habeck,” said the economic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group in the Handelsblatt. The question arises as to “whether Mr. Graichen is still acceptable in his office”. Michael Kruse, energy policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, is also having doubts: The recommendation of his best man for a management position is “a transgression that lacks any tact,” said Kruse. “If it’s true that Patrick Graichen recommended his best man in a pre-selection, then that’s overkill. State secretaries must be above any suspicion of accepting advantages,” he said.
Still other connections
FDP politician Houben said biases in the selection of personnel should not lead to the federal government’s economic and energy policies being discredited. “Instead of continuing to pursue a salami tactic, everything must now be on the table.”
According to his house, at the beginning of the week the minister asked for an internal examination to determine whether there was any bias.
(Photo: IMAGO/Chris Emil Janssen)
The criticism of the two FDP politicians does not only refer to the occupation of the Dena executive chair. Family ties between important employees of Habeck had already caused a lot of criticism from the opposition. Graichen’s sister Verena Graichen works at the nature conservation organization BUND and, like another brother, at the Öko-Institut, as summarized by SPD MP Markus Hümpfer, among others.
The Öko-Institut repeatedly receives expert orders from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and is also represented in the National Hydrogen Council, which reports to a state secretary committee of the federal government. Verena Graichen, in turn, is married to the parliamentary Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Michael Kellner (Greens).
For the opposition, the development is a steep template. The CDU MP Tilman Kuban spoke on Wednesday at a debate in the Bundestag of “mafia-like tendencies”. CSU General Secretary Martin Huber said the Greens were turning the Economics Ministry into the Family Ministry: “In order to have a career at Habeck, you obviously have to be part of the family. Robert Habeck has to clear up the nepotism in the BMWK around the Graichen clan. Patrick Graichen can no longer be held as State Secretary.”
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